Anchorage police have arrested a man in connection to a burglary early Sunday morning in Eagle River, according to a police statement.
Tyler J. Smith, 19, has been remanded at the Anchorage Jail on burglary, theft and vehicle tampering charges, police said.
Police first responded to the report of a burglary at 3:11 a.m. on Sunday in an Eagle River home on the 20200 block of Philadelphia Way, police said.
The investigation has indicated that Smith removed a screen from a sliding window in a guest bedroom and crawled inside the house, police said. He then went in to many areas of the home and eventually opened the bedroom door of a child who was awake and watching television, police said. The child’s dog barked at Smith and he closed the door and left, police said.
The child waited until he could no longer hear Smith’s footsteps, then left the bedroom and woke his parents, according to police. The parents then surveyed the house and found the opened window and that items had been moved around the house, police said. At that point, the parents called for police.
When police arrived, they saw a man who matched the physical description of the suspect walking near Constitution Drive and Philadelphia way. He wore a backpack that was “stuffed full” and was “carrying a box of alcohol," police said.
When officers made contact with Smith, he “began to resist when officers went to apply the handcuffs,” police said. Smith was on the ground as officers handcuffed him, police wrote, causing items to fall out of the backpack, including a purse, wallet and multiple sets of keys, police said.
Officers then took Smith, who “showed signs of impairment,” to jail, police said.
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